About the Award
THE INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The Award’s concept is one of individual challenge, giving young people a balanced, non-competitive programme of voluntary activities which encourage personal discovery and growth, self-reliance, perseverance, responsibility to themselves and service to their community. Those who participate in the Award are expected to follow its requirements in a non-competitive manner with a determination to succeed, either individually or as part of a team. The Award therefore is challenging, and can be undertaken at your own pace.
The Participation Age is between 14 and 25 years. The basic structure of the Award consists of 4 mandatory sections Voluntary Service, Adventurous Journey, Skills and Physical Recreation. There are 3 levels of the Award – Bronze, Silver & Gold. Participants must complete the four mandatory sections of Voluntary Service, Adventurous Journey, Skill & Physical Recreation.
Participants can undertake all three categories of the Award programme or enter directly at any of the three levels in the following age group; Bronze Award (for those over 14), Silver Award (for those over 15) and Gold Award (for those over 16 years).
The minimum period of participation is 6 months for Bronze, 12 months for Silver and 18 months for Gold. For each of these levels a participant is required to undertake activities under each of the four sections. At Gold level, participants undertake a Residential Project in addition.
The Award
- Available to all.
- Participation is voluntary and offers a wide choice of activities.
- An individual challenge as it is non-competitive.
- Achievement focused – only positive remarks are recorded.
- A marathon, not a sprint. Successful completion calls for persistence and commitment.
- An enjoyable experience for both participants and adult volunteers.
- All about teamwork and the building of interpersonal skills.
- Non-political; no considerations of religion, caste or creed are relevant.
LEVELS OF AWARD
| Levels of Award | Minimum Duration | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Bronze | 6 months |
 |
Silver | 12 months |
 |
Gold | 18 months |
VOLUNTARY SERVICE
Aim: To learn how to give useful voluntary service to others.
People in the community
- Helping people in need, such as elderly or disabled people, with shopping, gardening, domestic tasks, etc., on a regular basis.
- Voluntary work in hospitals and care centres.
- Visiting prisons or detention centres
- Helping with a local community radio or newspaper
- Sports coaching or leadership
- First aid
Youth Work
- Acting in a leadership role in a youth club or uniformed youth organization
- Assisting in teaching of primary school children
- Helping other young people participate in the Award by acting as a leader.
Community Education and Health Education
- Working with experienced persons to educate the local community in AIDS education, primary health care, immunization campaigns, drug / alcohol awareness, etc.
- Teaching a person to read or write
Environmental Service
- Participating in a conservation project, such as, cleaning wasteland, cleaning a river, caring for threatened wildlife or trees
- Caring for a public or school garden
- Providing, maintaining and encouraging the use of public wastepaper bins
- Caring for animals under threat
- Working for a clean up campaign
Charity Work
- Fundraising for a charity
- Creating or maintaining a charity website or newsletter
Emergency Services
- Helping a emergency service team, such as, fire services, life saving, police, mountain rescue, civil defense.
- Assisting with local or national disaster operations
Why Voluntary Service?
- To learn how to give useful voluntary service to others.
- This Section seeks to give participants a sense of responsibility to each other and the community, and to help them become better citizens
- Participants should undertake an activity in which they give service to others, and should learn and benefit from undertaking this voluntary service.
Examples of Voluntary Service
- People in the Community - visiting people in need, elderly or disabled, voluntary work in hospitals, first aid, etc.
- Youth Work – acting in a leadership role, assisting in teaching, etc.
- Community Education and Health Education – working with experienced persons to educate the local community on AIDS, etc., teaching a person to read or write, etc.
- Environmental Service – participating a conservation project, caring for a public place, caring for animals, etc.
- Charity Work – fundraising for a charity, etc.
- Emergency Services – helping an emergency service team, assisting with a local or national disaster operations, etc.
ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY
Aim: To encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery
- Exploring the natural world
- Exploring historic land use
- To investigate the evolution or extinction of a language
- Exploring human impact
- Personal artistic expression or aesthetic appreciation
- To carry out health surveys or health education in remote areas
- To complete a demanding journey
- To investigate group dynamics in challenging conditions
Why Adventurous Journey?
- To encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery whilst undertaking a journey in a group.
- This Section seeks to provide participants with a unique, challenging and memorable experience.
- The journey, with an agreed purpose, should be undertaken in a small team in an unfamiliar environment, requiring determination, physical effort, perseverance and cooperation to complete.
Examples of Adventurous Journeys
- Exploring the natural world
- Exploring historic land use
- To investigate the evolution or extinction of a language
- Exploring human impact
- Personal artistic expression or aesthetic appreciation
- To carry out health surveys or health education in remote areas
- To complete a demanding journey
- To investigate group dynamics in challenging conditions
SKILLS
Aim: To encourage the development of personal interests and practical skills.
- Music
- Sports related
- Crafts
- Arts
- Nature
- Communication
- Hobbies
- Games
- Life skills
- Vocational skills
- Performance skills
Why Skills?
- To encourage the development of personal interests and practical skills.
- This Section should stimulate new interests or improve existing ones.
- These interests are typically of a non-physically demanding nature and may be hobbies, vocational or job-related skills, social or individual activities, cultural activities or life skills.
Some examples of Skills
- Music – playing of a musical instrument, etc.
- Sports related – umpiring, refereeing, etc.
- Crafts – basket weaving, bookbinding, etc.
- Arts – painting, photography, etc.
- Nature – agriculture, dog training, etc.
- Communication – film and video making, sign language, etc.
PHYSICAL RECREATION
Aim: To encourage participation in Physical recreation and improvement of performance
- Ball sports
- Athletics
- Water sports
- Winter sports
- Martial arts
- Animal sports
- Fitness activities
- Adventure sports
- Dancing
- Miscellaneous
Why Physical Recreation?
- To encourage participation in physical recreation and improvement of performance.
- This Section should encourage participants to improve their personal physical performance through training and perseverance in their chosen activity.
- Involvement in physical recreation should be an enjoyable experience, regardless of physical ability.
Examples of Physical Recreation
- Ball Sports – football, etc.
- Athletics – running, jumping, etc.
- Water Sports – Swimming, water polo, etc.
- Winter Sports – skiing, snowboarding, etc.
- Martial Arts – karate, judo, etc.
- Animal Sports – horse riding, polo, etc.
- Fitness activities – aerobics, jogging, etc.
- Adventure Sports – rock climbing, mountaineering, etc.
- Dancing
- Miscellaneous – cycling, gymnastics, etc.
GOLD RESIDENTIAL PROJECT (Gold level only)
Aim: To broaden experience through involvement with others in a residential setting by choosing a purposeful activity with people who are not usual companies, in an unfamiliar residential setting. Minimum 5 days and 4 nights.The Award’s Management
- The work of the International Award Association (IAA) is carried out by an International Secretariat, which is based in London.
- The IAA is financially supported by The Duke of Edinburgh's Award International Foundation, a charitable company in the UK.
- The International Award Association (IAA) is made up of 62 National Award Authorities (NAAs) and over 200 Independent Operators (IOs) in more than 143 countries.
